Collections of the Russian museum

Contemporary Art

The Department of Contemporary Art was created at the end of the 1980s. One of the tasks of the department was to establish the systematised collection of new, non-traditional art forms, new media and technology, installations and assemblages, video art, photography, photo-based art and lots more.

The collecting activities of the department are directly related to exhibition activity; as a rule the collection acquires works that have been presented at the museum exhibitions. This was the case with the first major purchase, following the famous 1990 exhibition “Territory of Art”, curated by the State Russian Museum in conjunction with the Institut des Hautes Études en Arts Plastiques (Paris, France). This procedure became the practice: first there is a museum exhibition, confirming the status of the work, then the consolidation of this status by its inclusion in the museum collection.

The nature of the selection of works and the interest in the specific realities of some art practices are likely to feedback the artistic process, therefore the museum does not merely present contemporary art, but is also in some way involved in its development.

Of course, the main task of the Department of Contemporary Art is to track the most significant developments in the art of nowadays and reflect them in the collection. However, alongside monitoring the current situation, the department’s mission is to fill the gaps in the museum collection. Within its sphere of interests are also prominent art works and movements of the time before the 1980s, being not in demand in their time due to the ideological climate. These works are today reflected in the department collection.

The Russian Museum is the exclusive owner of all the interior images and pieces of art of the Russian Museum collection, as well as all the images and text information given on its official site. The usage of the texts and images provided on the site is only allowed with the permission of the Russian Museum.